Which dosage form uses a thin film coating primarily to mask taste?

Which dosage form uses a thin film coating primarily to mask taste?

• A. Enteric-Coated tablets
• B. Film-Coated tablets
• C. Caplets
• D. Chewable tablets

Answer: (B)

Masking a drug’s flavor while keeping the pill easy to swallow is the main reason for applying a thin film coating to a tablet. This film is a thin polymer layer that coats the surface, hiding bitter tastes as the tablet is swallowed and then dissolves later in the digestive tract. Film coatings are designed to be subtle and uniform, so they don’t add much bulk or alter disintegration significantly beyond improving taste and aesthetics. Enteric-coated tablets, on the other hand, are coated to resist stomach acid and only dissolve in the intestine, so their primary purpose isn’t taste masking. Chewable tablets are made to be chewed and usually flavored and sweetened to be palatable, rather than masked with a thin film. Caplets are simply capsule-shaped tablets and may be uncoated or lightly coated, but taste masking isn’t their defining purpose. So, using a thin film coating primarily to mask taste describes film-coated tablets.

Masking a drug’s flavor while keeping the pill easy to swallow is the main reason for applying a thin film coating to a tablet. This film is a thin polymer layer that coats the surface, hiding bitter tastes as the tablet is swallowed and then dissolves later in the digestive tract. Film coatings are designed to be subtle and uniform, so they don’t add much bulk or alter disintegration significantly beyond improving taste and aesthetics.

Enteric-coated tablets, on the other hand, are coated to resist stomach acid and only dissolve in the intestine, so their primary purpose isn’t taste masking. Chewable tablets are made to be chewed and usually flavored and sweetened to be palatable, rather than masked with a thin film. Caplets are simply capsule-shaped tablets and may be uncoated or lightly coated, but taste masking isn’t their defining purpose.

So, using a thin film coating primarily to mask taste describes film-coated tablets.